Birds set to battle for 4A state title

The Stuttgart Ricebirds are looking to make history Saturday — not just as the 2013 4A state champions, but as the first ever Stuttgart High School baseball team to bring home a state title.

The Ricebirds will take on Arkadelphia at 3 p.m. Saturday at Baum Stadium at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

The Ricebirds’ season started out a little shaky, but the Birds pulled together to end the season on a five-game win streak, before claiming the conference regular-season championship and the regional tournament title.

Stuttgart lost three of its first four games, but bounced back to win six of the next seven. The Ricebirds lost three in a row, before pulling out five straight wins to end the regular season.

Stuttgart won the conference championship with a 6-1 mark, falling only to Newport 3-2.

The Ricebirds earned a bye in the conference tournament, before defeating Southside Batesville 5-2 to advance to the championship game. The Birds couldn’t get going against Lonoke, losing to the Jackrabbits, 5-2 and taking home second place in the 2-4A conference tournament.

The Ricebirds advanced to regional tournament play, however, winning three straight to claim the crown.Stuttgart knocked off Westside (Jonesboro) 6-5 and Valley View 15-4 in Heber Springs to earn a spot in the final contest. Stuttgart defeated Brookland 6-4 to bring home the regional title.

The Ricebirds traveled to Harrison for the early rounds of the 4A state tournament.

After earning a bye thanks to their regional tournament title, the Ricebirds faced Star City in the second round, coming away iwth a 15-5 victory. Stuttgart downed Prairie Grove 2-1 Saturday to advance to the 4A state championship game.

Stuttgart is led offensively by Dontrell Brown, who’s batting .471 in 68 trips to the plate. Eleven of hits 32 hits accounted for extra bases. Jon Curtis leads the Ricebirds with 31 RBIs on the season. Curtis is batting .466 in 88 at-bats, including two home runs.

Curtis is also a force on the mound for Stuttgart, leading the team with 47 strikeouts in in 39 1/3 innings. Curtis has allowed 13 runs on 31 hits and holds a team-low ERA of 1.78.

Hunter Harris has seen 41 2/3 innings on the mound for Stuttgart, striking out 41, while giving up 30 runs on 52 hits.

Arkadelphia, sitting at 21-7 on the season, won the south regional to earn a spot in the state tournament.

Arkadelphia defeated Lincoln 6-4 in the second round, before toppling Central Arkansas Christian 13-5 in the semifinals to advance to the final matchup in Fayetteville.

“They’ve got a very good baseball team,” Stuttgart Ricebird head baseball coach Kevin Youngblood said, “but we’ve got a very good baseball team. It’s going to be a good challenge, but we’re up to it.”

Saturday will mark Stuttgart’s first-ever appearance in the baseball state championship game.

“Our kids have talked about it being the first state championship game; it means something to them,” Youngblood said. “It’s still a baseball game, and we’re focused on trying to win.”